NEWS RELEASES

Closing plenary, where steering committee members reflect on the Congress.

Washington, D.C.—The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is proud to support the outcomes of the 9th American Forest Congress (AFC), including resolutions to help forests thrive in a changing climate, support expanded markets for forest products, advance forest research, and invest in workforce development.

“Responsibly managed forests play a critical role in advancing our nation’s economy, environment, and social fabric. SFI proudly supports the 9th American Forest Congress resolutions and the spirit of collaboration to move these actions forward. SFI and our network are taking a leadership role in developing data-driven practices to improve current and future forest health and productivity, while training forest managers to use these practices and related strategies to empower decisions on the ground,” said Nadine Block, Senior VP of Network Initiatives at SFI.

CLIMATE SMART FORESTRY

The sixth resolution of the AFC will “advance the development and widespread implementation of rigorous, climate-informed forest stewardship,” which closely aligns with SFI’s commitment to advance climate-informed management practices and climate-smart forest products. The resolution reflects the forestry sector’s values around how we manage and conserve forests to reduce climate-induced risks to forest health and promote carbon stewardship.

The resolution calls on leaders to safeguard the long-term health and productivity of forest ecosystems while recognizing the forest sector’s valuable role in addressing climate change and contributing to sustainable economic development. This is aligned with Objective 9: Climate Smart Forestry and Objective 10: Fire Resilience and Awareness of the SFI 2022 Forest Management Standard, which ensures certified organizations address climate change adaptation and mitigation measures while reducing the risk of wildfire.

“I am proud to have contributed to the 9th American Forest Congress and look forward to pointing to the resulting Principles and Resolutions in the years to come. More than 370 million acres of forests managed by SFI‑certified organizations sequester and store carbon, conserve water resources, and protect biodiversity, demonstrating the critical role of certified forests in climate change mitigation and resilience,” said Lauren T. Cooper, Chief Conservation Officer at SFI.

SFI is advancing the interpretation and implementation of climate-informed forestry through the SFI Climate Smart Forestry Initiative, which focuses on enhancing the carbon sink and reducing sources of emissions from forest management and the forest sector. With funding from organizations like the Doris Duke Foundation, SFI is convening forest decision-makers and identifying and scaling principles and practices across our diverse network and vast footprint. SFI convened a dialogue at the AFC titled “Addressing the Climate Crisis Through U.S. Forest Sector Partnerships, Assurances, and Innovation,” focused on identifying how the forest sector can foster innovation and investment to scale solutions.

HEALTHY FORESTS NEED HEALTHY MARKETS

The fourth and fifth resolutions of the AFC are focused on expanding markets for forest products, including by “establishing an initiative that identifies and recommends actions to remove barriers to expanding domestic production of sustainable forest products and ecosystem services.” SFI advances this through our supply chain assurances and promotion of products from responsibly managed forests. SFI standards provide transparency in how organizations are meeting requirements to protect water, biodiversity, habitat, threatened and endangered species, and forests with exceptional conservation value.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

SFI strongly supports the highest-ranked resolution from the 9th American Forest Congress calling for workforce policies and programs to recruit, train, and retain the next generation of forest sector professionals. Through Project Learning Tree, SFI advances green career pathways through mentorship and training opportunities that help ensure broad, diverse participation in the forest sector.

SUPPORTING AND DISSEMINATING RESEARCH

Research drives innovation and helps address pressing conservation issues and threats to forests like invasive species and climate change. SFI is the only forest standard that requires certified organizations to invest in research, with SFI-certified organizations directly investing over $2 billion in forest research since 1995. SFI strongly supports the ninth resolution of the AFC, which encourages continued and expanded support for forest research and improved access to research findings.

Review the final resolutions of the 9th AFC at forestcongress.org/resolutions and learn more about SFI’s work at forests.org.